Method for freeing a container of asphaltic and oily materials



June 30, 1936. 2,045,752

METHOD FOR EREEING A CONTAINER OR AsPHALTTc ANO OTLY MATERIALS A. B. BUTTERWORTH Filed June 10, 1933 mw m AIRM, w mv 1.. N usw: IED...

Patented June 30, 1936 PATENT Price METHOD FOR FBEEING A CONTAINER 0F ASPHALTIC AND OILY MATERIALS Arthur B. Butterworth, Brooklyn, N. Y., asslgnor to Butterworth System, Inc.

Application June 10, 1933, Serial No. 675,235

8 Claims.

This invention relates to the cleaning of containers and more particularly it relates to the washing of a residual deposit including a bottom deposit containing fusible material from the interior of a container through an outlet.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which latter- Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view through a tank car of conventional design showing the cleaning mechanism associated therewith;

Fig. 2 `is a transverse sectional view taken along the line II--II of Fig. 1 showing a steam nozzle in end elevation; and- Fig. 3 is a detail view in 4side elevationy of the steam nozzle. y

y Referring particularly to the drawing, reference numeral I designates a .tank car of conventional design having a dome 2. The bottom wall 3 of the tank car extends substantially horizontally throughout its extent and is provided at an intermediate portion with a discharge outlet 4. The tank carl containsV heating coils 6 adjacent its bottom surface, suitably supported from the oor3 by brackets 1.

` Such a tank car may be used in the transportation of oil such as asphaltic base crude oil or its distillates. Such an oil may deposit a heavy coating 8 of dirt, coke sand, asphaltic material or the like together with' sludge and scale upon the bottom wall 3 ofthe tank car as well as the usual deposit or residue of sludge and scale upon the side and end walls of the tank car. In cleaning the tank car a steam vnozzle device Z is first placed in the container I. The steam nozzle deviceZ comprises a tubular main formed'of sections A and B which are disposed on opposite sides of the discharge outlet` 4. The tubular main is provided with a plurality of steam nozzles N each formed of a coupling member I0 having a'delivery portion I I with a fan shaped discharge orice I2. The discharge orifice of each steam nozzle of section A faces toward the right as viewed in Fig. l toward the discharge outlet 4. Similarly the orice of each nozzle of the section B of the steam nozzle device faces toward the left as viewed in Fig. 1 toward the discharge outlet l. steam nozzle device is supported in position within the tank car upon the steam heating coils 6 by means of supports 3l. 'Ihe tubular main of the steam nozzledevice connects through a T I4 and flexible conduit I5 with a suitable source of steam supply, not shown. i

Inf cleaning the tank car the discharge outlet 4 isopened to permit the free discharge of iiuid a cleaning operation by the following arrange- Thev therethrough. Steam under pressure is delivered through the nozzles of the steam nozzle device into the deposit upon the bottom of the car. Preferably the steam is ejected under considerable pressure such as fifty pounds per square inch 5 or more. The jets of steam heat a large portion of the bottom deposit to a iiuid condition. The application of the jets of steam is continued for a prolonged period of time such as from one to three hours, depending upon the nature and the 10 amount of the deposit of residues. The ilow of the bottom deposit toward the discharge outlet is facilitated by the jets' of steam which are themselves directed toward the discharge outlet thereby reducing the amount of liquid covering the 15 bottom of the tank car. 4

After a large portion of the bottom deposit is removed from the car by the jets of steam, thev entire interior surface of the car is subjected to ment ofA parts while continuing the injection of steam through the steamnozzle device. A tank washing machine M is .projected into the car through the dome 2 and is held in position to inject water or other cleaning liquid against the entire interior surface of the car. The water or the like is disposed in a tank I`I and is preferably heated through a heating coil I8 connected by means of a pipe I 9 to a suitable source of steam or otherv heating fluid. The water is conducted from the tank I1 by means of -a pump 20 having a suction line 2I communicating with the tank I I and the outlet line 22 through which the liquid from the pumpis directed into a pipe 23 of the tank washing machine. p 35 The tank washing machine M is suitably supported at 2| by the cover of the dome 2 of the tank car. The water flows downwardly through the pipe 23 to nozzles 25 through which it is discharged in a solid stream against thesides 4 and bottom of thetank car. `It will benoted that the `two nozzles 25, one at each side of the pipe 23, are directed in opposite directions. A connecting T 26 is secured rigidly upon a main carrying line 2'I within the pipe 23.y The line 21 is rotated through a shaft 28 at the upper end thereof and the pipe 23 through which the liquid ows from the line 22 is held stationary. The lower end of the pipe 23 is formed with a stationary gear 29 which is engaged by a gear 30 upon one of the nozzles 25. The rotation of the shaft 28 and the tube 21 leading therefrom rotates the T 26 and the nozzles 25. 'I'he engage'- ment between the gear 30 and the stationary gear 29 while the tube 2'I is being rotated causes the nozzles to be rotated in planes parallel with the pipe 2l. It is to be understood that the gears 2Q and )Il are not of exactly the same size so that the paths of the streams of liquid issuing from the nozzles 25 take a different path on each revolution which they make about the central shaft 21. The shaft 2t is driven in rotation by suitable means such as a manually operated crank, an air motor or the like.

In utilizing the tank washing machine the hot water or the like from the tank i1 is delivered from the nozzles 25 under high pressures such as one hundred seventy-five pounds per square inch. The pressure used should be such that the solid jets of liquid issuing from the nozzles 25 will erode or cut the scale and other sediment from the surface to be cleaned. 'l'he used liquid is removed through the discharge outlet I as fast as it is injected into the tank car and discharged into a settling tank or clarier not shown, from whence the clarified liquid may be returned to the tank I1 for recirculation thru the system. The removal of the used liquid and dislodged deposits is assisted by the jets of steam which are directed against the bottom of the car and toward the drain, the application of steam being continued throughout the injection of wash liquid into the car. Consequently the high pressure jets impinge directly against the sediment, rust, scale and the like material tol be eroded and to be removed with a result that the liquid cleans all of the upper interior surfaces of the car and assists the steam jets in removing the heavy residue still remaining in the bottom.

various changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims in which it is desired to claim all novelty inherent in the invention as broadly as the prior art permits.

I claim:

1. The method of cleaning a bottom' deposit of fusible material from the interiorof a container through a bottom outlet, which comprises initially directing jets of steam under substantial pressure against the bottom deposit and toward the outlet whereby a portion of the bottom deposit is melted and propelled toward the outlet and subsequently, while continuing the injection of steam toward said outlet, directing cleaning liquid in streams with force against the bottom wall of the container whereby the remainder of the bottom deposit is blasted from the wall and washed out of the outlet.

2. The method of cleaning residual depodt including a bottom depodt containing fusible material from the interior of a container through a bottom outlet. which comprises initially directing jets of steam under substantial pressure against the bottom deposit whereby a portion of the bottom deposit is melted and propelled toward the outlet, and subsequently while continuing the injection of steam toward said outlet, directing cleaning liquid in streams with force against the top, side and bottom walls of the container. whereby the deposits are blasted from the walls and washed out of the outlet.

3. The method of cleaning residual deposit including a bottom deposit containing fusible material from the interior of a container through a 'central bottom outlet, which comprises initially directing jets of steam under pressure against the bottom deposit from each end and in the direction of the outlet until a portion of the bottom deposit is melted, blown toward and ilcwed out of the outlet, subsequently discharging streams of cleaning liquid under pressure against successively different areas of the top. side and bottom walls of the container, and opposing ihe centrifugal action induced by the intraduction of the cleaning liquid with a centrlpetal action induced by the injection of steam 5 through the jets directed against the bottom and toward the central oulet from each end whereby the deposits are blasted from the walls and washed out of the outlet.

4. The method of cleaning residual deposit inl0 cluding a bottom deposit containing fusible material from the interior of a container through a bottom outlet, which comprises directing jets of steam under pressure against the bottom deposit for approximately one to three hours and toward the outlet whereby a large portion of the bottom deposit is melted and flowed out of the outlet, and then while continuing the injection of steam toward said outlet directing cleaning liquid in streams with force against the top, side 20 and bottom walls of the container whereby the deposits are blasted from the walls and washed out of the outlet.

' 5. The method of cleaning residual deposit including a bottom deposit containing fusible ma- 25 terial from the interior of a container through a bottom outlet, which comprises directing jets of steam toward .said outlet directly into spaced portions of the bottom deposit whereby said portions of the bottom deposit are melted and flowed 30 by 'progressive stages out of the outlet, and then while continuing the injection of steam toward said outlet directing cleaning liquid in streams with force against the top, side and bottom walls of the container, whereby the deposits are blasted 35 from the walls and washed out of thev outlet.

6. The method of cleaning residual deposit including a bottom deposit containing fusible material from the interior of a container through a bottom outlet, which comprises directing jets of steam under pressure against the bottom deposit and toward the outlet whereby a portion of the deposit is melted and flowed out of the out- 'let '1. The method of cleaning residual deposit including a bottom deposit containing fusible material from the interior of a container through a bottom outlet, which comprises directing jets of steam under pressure against the bottom deposit and toward the outlet until a large portion of the 60 bottom depomt is flowed out of the outlet, then while continuing the injection of the jets of steam toward said outlet simultaneously discharging a cleaning liquid in the form of impact high pressure jets under a pressure of not less than forty founds per square inch into the container while maintaining the bottom of said container substantially free from an interposed buffer layer of the cleansing liquid and while repeatedly changing the point of impact of said liquid under pressure and eifecting the repeated circulation of the cleaning liquid withdrawn from the container thru this phase of the operation.

8. The method of washing residual deposit including a bottom deposit containing fusible ma- 76 terial from the interior of a container through a bottom outlet, which comprises directing jets of steam under pressure against the bottom deposit and toward the outlet until a portion of the bottom deposit is melted and flowed out of the outlet, then while continuing the application of the jets of steam against said bottom and toward said outlet simultaneously directing hot cleaning liquid at high pressure in splashing impact jets under a pressure o1' not less than 75 pounds per square inch against the side and bottom walls of the container, repeatedly changing the direction of delivery of the jets of liquid so as to successively impinge against dierent areas,

of said container, and withdrawing the used liquid from the container through said outlet at a rate suilicient to maintain the bottom of the container substantially bare of cleaning liquid whereby direct impingement of the cleaning liquid against the bottom deposit is obtained without the interposition of a substantial buier layer of liquid therebetween.

ARTHUR B. BU'I'I'ERWORTH. 

